THE ONE TREE

They say the apple 

doesn’t fall far from the tree. 

But what they don’t tell you

is that we, said apples,

all fall from the same tree. 

Maybe they don’t tell you

because no one told them,  

or they assume we already know,

or because they can’t believe 

the good news that

there is only one tree,

and the good news that, 

before we fall from the one tree

we all drink of the same sweet nectar,

swaying beneath the same wind-wizened branches 

while shaded by the same greening leaves,

all tethered to the same strong stems.

No wonder we’re all so alike!

Though we may look and live and love 

differently from each other, 

--so much so that it’s easy 

to forget our common origin-- 

our truth lies in the tree.

And when we make our final fall, 

all sheltered by the same Above,

we return to become fresh earth,

bearing fruit not of our own making, 

but of our mother’s love and labor, 

blessed to bequest her life anew.